Ringu (1998) Movie Script

1 Ring Nanako Matsushima Miki Nakatani Hiroyuki Sanada Based on the novel The Ring by Koji Suzuki Screenplay by Hiroshi Takahashi Directed by Hideo Nakata Sunday, September 5 A grade-school boy took a trip to Izu with his family, and they stayed in a cabin. He wanted to go out and play... but there was a TV show he didn't want to miss. So he recorded it on the VCR in their room. But the channels down there are different from Tokyo's. No station there uses that channel, so nothing should've been recorded. But when he played it back at home, a woman appeared on the screen and said: "You will die in one week." The kid stopped the tape, and then the phone rang. "You saw it." And the kid died a week later! What's wrong, Tomoko? Who told you that story? - Everybody's talking about it. - Was it Yoko? No, not her. What? I saw a weird video the other day. Where? With Yoko and the others. Is it true that you all went on a trip somewhere? Nothing happened! But that night... Iwata found this weird video, and we all watched it. What was it like? It's hard to say. As soon as it ended, the phone rang. But nobody was there. Scary. Everyone else had heard that story. Today will be one week. Come on! You're just trying to scare me! How did you know? I can't believe it! You're so easy to fool. But did you really spend the night there with Iwata? - So what happened? - I'm not telling! - Confess! - It's a secret. It was true, wasn't it? Masami! Masami! Hello? Hold on a sec. Hello? It's you, Mom! A friend came over. Okay. Got it. All right, all right. Extra innings. They'll be late. My parents shouldn't have scared me like that! Look who's talking. I'm going to tell everyone tomorrow. I'm going to the bathroom. Don't go upstairs without me. Sure. On the mound, Takasu, the third player... Everyone's talking about this deadly video... Yes. - Have you heard what's on it? - Yes. - Don't look at the camera. - Sorry. One more time. Have you heard what the video is like? I heard that suddenly there's this scary woman... who says, "You will die in one week." They say she appears when you watch late-night shows on TV. And then the phone rings. Late-night shows on TV? What channel? I heard it was on a local channel down in Izu. - Izu? - Yeah. And is there really anyone who died a week later? No one that we know. Well... What? A high school student I know told me... a girl who watched it died in a car on a date with her boyfriend. - An accident? - No. They were found dead in a parked car. He watched the video, too. It was in the paper a few days ago. Do you know which high school she went to? No. My friend heard it from a friend of hers. - Ms. Asakawa. - Yes? - Here. - Thanks. About ten years ago... a star killed herself, and people saw her ghost on TV. Yeah, but this time everyone mentions the Izu Peninsula for some reason. Well, maybe that's where this one started. Where did the story start about the woman with torn lips? I think it was Gifu. There was a big traffic accident there and that's how it started. A big accident? These stories get started when people die horrible deaths. - Did something happen in Izu then? - I don't know. Well, I have to go. - Good night. - Good night. Young Couple Found Dead in Car A 19-year-old Tokyo boy and a 17-year-old Yokohama girl... were found dead in a car on the morning of Sept. 6 Take care of it, okay? I thought you were leaving early today. - Okazaki, will you do something for me? - Sure. Can you find out which high school she went to? No problem. - Call me when you find it. - Okay. Yoichi! Sorry I'm late. You changed already! I got your clothes ready, too. Thanks. We need to hurry. Did Grandpa call? No. How come Tomoko died? Probably some disease. Zip me up. Do young people die, too? Sometimes they get sick. But don't talk about that at Aunt Yoshiki's, okay? It's too painful for her. Yeah. Tomoko used to play with you, didn't she? Dad. How's sister? She's lying down. Better leave her alone. I'll go help. Yoichi, you come sit here. Excuse me. Reiko. - Does anyone know how Tomoko died? - No, I don't. But the police did an autopsy! But there was no evidence of a crime. People don't just die like that. And they never opened the coffin. Isn't that strange? Yoichi. Don't play in this room. - Let's go downstairs. - Okay. - Go ahead. - Okay. Hello? It's Okazaki. I found the name of the high school. Seikei Girls' School in Yokohama. Thank you. In Loving Memory-Seikei Girls' School Yoko died, too. Yeah, and Iwata, too... Sorry to interrupt. Was the girl who died in the car a friend of yours, too? If there's anything you know... All of them died on the same day. Yoko and Tomoko. And Iwata had a motorcycle accident. - They saw the video. - The video? Yoko told us they'd all seen this weird video. When it was over, they got a phone call. Tomoko saw it, too? Where? They all went and spent the night somewhere. A girl was with Tomoko when she died. She went insane and was hospitalized. She never goes anywhere where there's a TV. The girl was Tsuji Yoko, 17, a senior at Seikei Girls' School. The boy was Nomi Tadahiko, 19, a Junior College student. The car doors were locked. I've never seen a corpse look like that. Cause of death? Unknown. Their hearts simply stopped. Drugs? Nothing in the autopsy. They went up there to make out, then they suddenly died. It doesn't make any sense. I heard that Yoichi came to the funeral. Yes. He used to go upstairs and play in Tomoko's room. He did. Photo development receipt This is where I found Tomoko dead. Tomoko! Izu Pacific Land Izu... I might be late tonight. Put your supper in the microwave. Okay? - Mom? - Yeah? Tomoko watched the cursed video. Why would you say that? Don't talk about that at school. I won't. I'm going to school now. Monday, September 13 Izu Parkway This is crazy! Izu Pacific Land ...enjoy our hot springs... ...the instructor will teach you thoroughly... - Wow, this is roomy! - Yes, it is. "My dad's fat. So is my mom. So I'm fat, too." Are you here alone? Yeah, I'm working. These four people stayed here on August 29. Did you notice anything unusual? Just a minute. August 29... That tape... That one. What is it? This one? Someone must have left it. Eruption Sada One week! Tuesday, September 14 Is Yoichi in elementary school already? First grade. So how are you, Ryuji? The same. What do you do? Teach at a university. So then there was a phone call? Yes. So this phone will ring after I see it? Four people died, all on the same day! Then get exorcised. Take my picture. Face this way. Hurry up and take it! It's over. No phone call. Copy this for me. I'll take a good look at it. You can't be sure that you're going to die. It's a video. Someone made it. I'll check who stayed there, and if there were any pirate broadcasts. Wednesday, September 15 From the Izu bureau. Thanks! What are you going to do with the cabin registry? Sorry, but I just need to check something by myself. Was it you? Did you do this? Sorry I'm late. What's wrong? Nothing. So, do you have any new information? No one I phoned brought a tape to the cabin. And they all sounded normal, not like they'd make a tape like this. How about pirate stations? There's no record of an illegal broadcast anywhere in Izu. Here's the copy. Asakawa. Have you ever seen this woman? No. This shot is strange. From that angle, the cameraman should be in the mirror. What do you mean? I don't know. You could fix it with special effects, but... "Eruption." Which eruption? You can't read it on a regular home TV. Come in. This is Takano. One of my students. Asakawa. My ex-wife. How do you do? I'm Takano. I'm Asakawa. The publisher wants your essay. Why did they tell you that? Because they couldn't reach you. Ask for a week extension. Me? Ask them yourself! Okay, okay. Not clear enough. "Sada." Is Yoichi all right alone? He's used to it. Whoever made this video left a clue subconsciously. The person wants to be found out. Wait. "Frolic in brine, goblins be thine." It sounded like that. What does it mean? I'll check tomorrow. ...who says, "You will die in one week." They say she appears when you watch late-night shows on TV. And then the phone rings. Thursday, September 16 Late-night shows on TV? What channel? I heard it was on a local channel down in Izu. - Izu? - Yeah. Hello? I found it. Like I thought, it's a dialect. It's about brine and goblins. A dialect? From where? Oshima Island, where there's a volcano, Mt. Miharayama. Hello, Yoichi? I'll be late tonight. Yeah. Are you okay alone? I'm sorry. This is it, but it happened a long time ago. Mt. Miharayama Eruption Alert To Local Residents Did Local Woman Predict Eruption? - What is it? - Does the paper have a bureau in Oshima? - I think there's a correspondent there. - Get me the number. Tonight. Why? You only have four days left. I'll handle it with your correspondent. Please stay with Yoichi. Grandpa! Welcome! Friday, September 17 - Yoichi wants to go fishing with you. - Really? - C'mon, let's go! - Let's get ready and go fishing! Yeah! Right there. - Now that way! - Grandpa! You've got one! We missed it! You're not very good at this! Okay, let's try it again. Let's fish over here this time. All right. You're home. Hello? The correspondent in Oshima did some research for us. The woman who predicted the eruption is probably the one in the video. Her name was Yamamura Shizuko. She threw herself into the volcano 40 years ago. What do we do now? I'll go down there. I'll go to Oshima tomorrow. Oshima? But I only have three days left! I know. And I have four. I'll call later. What's wrong? Nothing. Just doing my work. Auntie. Yoichi? Yoichi! Did you bring this? How dare you? Why? Tomoko... Tomoko told me to watch it. I was careless. I sensed something when I visited your house. But I thought it was the video. It was Tomoko. She's not Tomoko anymore. Can Yoichi see her, too? It's all my fault, isn't it? It should have ended with Tomoko and her friends. I don't know. Where did this story come from? Nobody starts these kind of stories. Whatever people feel anxious about becomes rumor and starts to spread. Anxious? Or people start them, hoping things will turn out like this. Mr. Hayatsu? Hello. Sorry you had to come all the way out here. This way. Saturday, September 18 The Yamamuras in Sashikiji used to run a big fishery. But they sold most of their business. Shizuko's cousin is still alive. His son and daughter-in-law run an inn. I've booked you there for tonight. Why did Yamamura Shizuko commit suicide? I heard she went insane. The papers had written awful things about her. She became famous all over the island after her prediction of the eruption. She had strange powers all her life. She was what they call a seer. After that, a professor showed up. You've heard of him. Ikuma Heihachiro. Wasn't he fired? He brought Shizuko to Tokyo and experimented on her. He was trying to prove the existence of ESP. The papers praised him, then trashed him. It was 40 years ago, and the media still does the same thing. I've heard this story. If I'm not mistaken, didn't someone die in the experiment? Dr. Ikuma disappeared after his university fired him. I doubt he's still alive. Even if we found him, what could we do? They say Shizuko had a daughter. Hello? Hello. Welcome. I'll leave you here. Please come in. How many rooms? - Two, please. - Yes, sir. This way, please. Sir? Please. Wait! - Please tell me about Shizuko! - There's nothing to say. What about her daughter? She didn't have a daughter. Not eating? No. When I die, stay with me. Cut it out. Please! Please? And try to find a way to save Yoichi! Stop it! The girl who was with Tomoko lost her mind, huh? I don't know what'll happen to me. You'll be all right! Because I'm not normal? Maybe all three of us should just die. Good idea! We shouldn't have had a kid in the first place. Stop it! We still have two days left. Excuse me. Come in. Did you want to know about Shizuko? This is all that's left. Is this Dr. Ikuma? Yes. It was before I came here. Good night. Thank you. Frolic in brine... goblins be thine. Sunday, September 19 You'd better leave this town. There's a storm coming tonight. What was Shizuko like? She was a strange one. She used to sit here all day long. She'd just stare at the sea every single day. All the fishermen hated her. The sea is ominous for us. Every year some of us die in the sea. But she just kept staring at it-- "Frolic in brine, goblins be thine." if you play in the sea, the goblins come to get you. Shizuko was able to read people's minds, wasn't she? She must have known about things which people hid deep inside their minds. That must have been painful. Go home! I have similar abilities. You were the one who spread a rumor about Shizuko's abilities, weren't you? - You also called Dr. Ikuma. - Nonsense! You thought you could make money off of Shizuko. You earned money from the newspapers, too. That's enough! Tell me about her daughter! What happened to her? - I don't know! - She should have been with Shizuko! ESP Public Demonstration You were there... when Shizuko gave her demonstration. Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. This is a fraud! This is just a magic show! You can't fool me! Dr. Ikuma, she's deceiving you, too! Hey! What's wrong? He's dead. She's a monster! Sadako! Did you do that? Sadako? Sada Sadako killed him? She could kill someone just by wishing? She was a monster! Sadako! Hey! Yes! After Shizuko killed herself, Dr. Ikuma took Sadako with him. But nobody knows what happened to them since. Find them! Dr. Ikuma may be dead, but Sadako should be in her 40s. I'll explain later. Hurry! I doubt Sadako is alive, either. She killed a man just by wishing his death. Her power was much stronger than her mother's. Then that video... it's not from this world. It's Sadako's wrath. She's put a curse on us. All the ferries have been canceled because the typhoon's too close. Try a fishing boat. We'll pay. A fishing boat? The typhoon might change course. You'd better wait. Okay, then I'll find one! Mr. Takayama! Mr. Takayama! Hello? Ms. Asakawa? I'm sorry, but there's no trace of either of them. Hello? Thank you. Yoichi! Izu! Ryuji! Ryuji. The phone didn't ring at my house. The only place it rang was at that cabin! Dr. Ikuma must've... But we're stuck here. You can't take a boat out on a night like this! Let me handle this. Sadako's calling you, isn't she? Or maybe she's planning to drag us into the sea. Take us! It's strange, isn't it? I'm not afraid at all. Sadako probably died there, before that cabin was built. Was Sadako Dr. Ikuma's daughter? He had a wife and family. His affair with Shizuko caused a scandal. That was another reason for his dismissal. Let's find Sadako's corpse. Will that lift the curse? Will that save Yoichi? There's nothing else we can do. I have one day left. I guess Sadako doesn't hate you. Shizuko used to talk to the sea. She mumbled things to it. She looked like she was having fun. I hid once and listened. But it wasn't a human language. Monday, September 20 Hello? Yoichi? It's Mom. I'm coming back tomorrow. I'm bored here. I want to go back to school! Don't say that! You'll hurt Grandpa's feelings! He's laughing. Do you want to talk to him? That's okay. I'm sorry. I'll hurry home. What's wrong? I still have something to do. Say hello to Grandpa for me. What time did you watch the video? It was 7 or 8 minutes after 7:00 p.m., but it was before 7:10 for sure. If the story's true, that will be your deadline. Here. - A well, just as I thought! - A well? Her father? Dr. Ikuma put this lid on. Sadako's under here. I'll go down. Sadako was still alive! She tried to climb up. Lower the buckets! Pull it up! Pull it up! Pull it up! It's 6:00 p.m. already! I know! Hurry and take it up! Pull it up! Asakawa! Damn it! Are you trying to kill me? Hey! Asakawa! Let's switch. You can't lift anymore. No! Then who's going to lift the buckets up? We don't even know if it'll save us! Then what about Yoichi? You have to pick him up tomorrow! Don't look down! Where are you? Come out! Please! Where are you? It's you. Hey! Asakawa! It's past 7:10! We're saved! Why did he kill his own daughter? Maybe she wasn't his daughter. I wonder if her father was even human. The marks are gone. It's over. I'll take you home. Get some rest. I've got a deadline for my essay. Thank you. Idiot! Tuesday, September 21 Why? Now I got it! Asakawa! Are you a resident? I'm Takayama Ryuji's wife! The body's been taken away, ma'am. What happened? When I got there, he was lying on the floor. Did he say anything to you? About a video? His face... Why, Ryuji? Will Yoichi die, too? Didn't we lift the curse? Why was I the only one saved? Sadako's curse was only lifted from me. Why not you, Ryuji? What did I do that you didn't? What did I do that you didn't? Ryuji? Something I did that you didn't... to lift the curse. I copied it... and showed it to you! Dad? Yeah, I'm on my way. I have a favor to ask you. It's for Yoichi. I heard that there's a way to lift the curse from the video. You have to copy it and show it to someone else within a week. Then what happens to them? They have to do the same thing within a week. Then it never ends? That's right. It goes on forever. But if you don't want to die, you'd do it, wouldn't you? Wednesday, September 22 The Ring/The Spiral Production Group presents in association with Asmik Ace Entertainment a Omega Project production (c)1998 The Ring/The Spiral Production Group